Are You Dehydrated?

Are You Dehydrated?

Water is essential to health and it makes sense when you consider that our bodies are more than 60% water. Just the daily processes of breathing and elimination cause us to lose about 60 ounces of our body fluids each day, so replenishing is necessary. Many of us develop the ability to ignore our signaling for water, which can cost us. When we don’t have enough water, we get reminders from our body – but we think of them as annoying symptoms. Digestive issues, dry skin, headaches, constipation, and difficulty focusing are some of the hints we get, and if we don’t rehydrate, our organs are forced to scale back and make due with the supply of resources they get. Long-term, this can really strain the system and cause serious health issues.

There’s debate about the quantity of water we need to drink. It seems reasonable to start at a minimum of 60 ounces to replenish what we’ve lost, and increase when active or feeling thirsty. Our body weight plays a part too; the more we weigh, the more water we have, lose, and need to replenish. The latest research suggests half your body weight in ounces of water should be consumed each day. Believe it or not, there are limits to stay within so you avoid the uncommon effects of water toxicity. You don’t want to drink too much, too quickly or exceed about 100 ounces per day (see my previous post, “Healthy Hydration” for more details).

Of course, there’s the other critical question – What’s the best quality water to drink? Unfortunately, the most accessible resource to most of us – tap water, is not ideal. It typically contains contaminants and chemicals that distract the body (at best) and can even accumulate in the body and cause sickness or disease. So the short answer is, distilled or quality filtered water is much preferred over tap water. The longer, more detailed discussion will be posted soon. Please let us know what works well for you!